Forgotten Ghosts
by genxgal1
Summary: The guys go on a roadtrip and end up stranded in a small town that Langly knows from his past and also hates.
1. Default Chapter

**Forgotten Ghosts  
  
**Disclaimer: I don't own the Lone Gunmen or the X-Files, (I wish I did though).  
Summary: Byers convinces his two best friends to go on a roadtrip and they end up stranded in a town that Langly knows from his past and also hates.   
  
"I can't believe you actually took that guys advice. I told you we should have just stuck to the path we had marked out on the map. Now we're lost." Byers was saying to Frohike, who just continued to drive.  
  
"Look, how was I supposed to know that we'd get lost? The guy at the roadstop said it was a shortcut, would cut at least three hours off of our trip. Besides this whole thing was a complete waste of time." Frohike said.  
  
Byers didn't respond to that, instead he just stared out the window, contemplating the things that had happened on their little roadtrip. He had thought they needed a vacation, and the trip sounded good at first. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. Considering all of the things that had gone wrong from the start.  
  
"Great. Just great." Frohike said, pulling the old van to the side of the road as smoke began to billow out of the hood. Muttering to himself, he reached behind the front passengers seat and grabbed his coat off the floor, noticing that Langly hadn't woken up just yet.  
  
"What now?" Byers said aloud, more to himself than anyone else. He got out of the van, not bothering yet for his coat and followed Frohike as he went to check under the hood.   
  
Inside the van, Langly was just now waking up, wondering where he and everyone else was. He yawned once and went to look out the back window. Almost immediately he thought he knew where they were, but couldn't be entirely sure. Outside he heard the voices of Frohike and Byers arguing. Apparently they had gotten lost and the van had broken down. Frohike must have taken that short-cut when Byers had told him not to, he thought to himself.  
  
Shaking his head at the unexpected delay on their way home, Langly sighed and bent down to look for his jacket under the pile of bags in the back of the van. He noticed that the clouds outside looked pretty dark and the weather report had mentioned rain for the evening and early afternoon for the day. Looks like the weather's actually right for once, he thought to himself as he continued his search for his jacket.  
  
He found it just as Byers opened the front passenger side door to retrieve his jacket as well. Langly looked up as the door opened and saw that Byers shirt was slightly wet, it seemed the rain was just now starting.  
  
"Glad you're up. The van broke down and it looks like we're lost. We saw a sign just before we broke down, but the nearest town is ten miles away. But we may be in luck. There's what looks to be a ranch or camp not too far from here. It looks pretty old, but if we're lucky we can find a pay phone, or caretaker, or something." Byers said as he grabbed his jacket.   
  
"What ranch? What was it called?" Langly asked. Langly looked back at Byers, he hoped it wasn't the one he had originally thought it was.  
  
Byers turned to the younger man and stared at him for a moment. There was something in the younger man's voice that didn't sound right. It almost sounds like he knows where we are, Byers thought. He quickly shook the thought away.  
  
"Sunny Side Ranch, I think. It looks really old. Frohike thinks its abandoned or out of business." Byers told his friend. He remembered the sign was hard to make out, and the paint looked to be cracked and fading.  
  
"Are you guys coming or..." Frohike peeked in behind Byers and saw Langly just standing in the back of the van, staring. What the heck is wrong with that kid now? he thought and tapped Byer's shoulder to get his attention.  
  
Byers looked up at Frohike as his friend gestured to Langly. He looked over at Langly, apparently he hadn't moved since Byers told him about the ranch they saw.   
  
"Langly, are you all right?" Byers asked.  
  
Langly just stood there. Unconsciously he found his mind going back nearly twenty years, to when he had first visited the ranch and his great-uncle George and his wife Carla. He remembered the little town, Rocky Creek. Langly hated that ranch and that town.  
  
His parents had sent him there to help his great-uncle when the ranch first opened up, he was to spend the whole summer there. It seemed from day one that everything that could possibly have gone wrong did, from getting picked on by the local town bullies to accidents on the ranch itself.   
  
Unconsciously Langly found his hand reach up to his neck and feel for the little stone necklace his great-aunt had given him. It was a small stone with an odd symbol carved on it, she told him it meant protection. Langly didn't really care much for it at first until he got back home and did research on the symbol. He really didn't know why he had kept it so long, maybe because it was different, maybe because he didn't want to hurt the old woman's feelings.  
  
In the front of the van Byers and Frohike watched Langly curiously. They had only seen the necklace a few times and Langly never commented about it. He simply refused to talk about where he had gotten it and why he always wore it. Even when they did see it it was on rare occasions, because Langly usually kept it tucked under his shirt, to avoid comments about it.  
  
"Langly? We need to get going, it's going to be dark soon. We have a long walk to town if that ranch doesn't have a phone or something we can use." Byers called out to his friend in an attempt to bring him back to reality.  
  
Langly continued to stand still for another few minutes before finally looking over and nodding to Byers that he'd be coming in a minute.   
  
How could you let yourself go back there? After all of these years you'd think you would know better, its over. You shouldn't be thinking about this place, about what happened. Dammit Ringo, you're a grown man, this place shouldn't scare you anymore, he thought to himself. But for some reason it did.  
  
In those few minutes he spent remembering the ranch he had almost let the other memories flood his mind. The legends, the accidents, and worst of all the deaths that had taken place there. But that had all happened years ago, it was over now. It should not have any affect on him now, but it did. It just still did and he didn't know why.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Forgotten Ghosts: Part 2

**Forgotten Ghosts: Part 2  
  
**Disclaimer: I don't own the Lone Gunmen or the X-Files.  
Summary: Byers and Frohike go to the ranch looking for a pay-phone, Langly tries to convince himself that what had happened in his past is over.  
  
"That guy is completely and totally nuts. I told you we should have brought at least one of the laptops with us. I think that without a computer screen in front of him, his mind can't comprehend normal things." Frohike was saying to Byers as the two started down the trail from the road that lead to the old ranch they had seen earlier.  
  
"Well..." Byers started, but his friend interrupted him again.  
  
"I mean standing out there by the side of the road, and in this rain. What is he thinking? What if it starts to really get bad out? I swear if that kid ends up getting struck by lightning I'll kill him." Frohike was saying as he and Byers continued to walk.  
  
"Frohike I don't think we have to worry about that. The weather said earlier that we were just going to get rain. Besides, he did have a point." Byers said, and gestured towards the sky. It had been raining lightly, but steadily since they left the van and the sky above showed no signs of letting up.  
  
"Oh, really? Tell me something, just what do you think the chances are that a car will pass by? And even if it does, will they stop?" Frohike pointed out. Byers paused, he hadn't really thought about that.  
  
"OK. So you both have a point. But at least its worth it, if we can get a ride to town. And I don't think there will be any lightning, just rain." Byers responded.   
  
Frohike just shook his head and cursed under his breath.   
  
Langly really knew how to get to him some days and this was just turning out to be one of them. The kid had made a huge deal about not going to the ranch, even when Frohike and Byers told him that they wouldn't be there any longer than a few minutes. Just long enough to find a working pay-phone and get the hell out of here, Frohike thought. In his mind, there really wasn't any reason to be so paranoid. It was just a stupid old ranch that had, for some reason, gone out of business.   
  
"Well Frohike, I don't think we're gonna find a pay-phone." Byers said as they approached the ranch. The two stopped and stared at the several long rows of cabins in front of them, wondering where they would most likely find a pay-phone.   
  
"Let's try there. I think that's where the main office used to be. Man, I wonder just how old this place really is?" Frohike said, gesturing to the cabins on both sides of the trail that lead to what may have once been the office.  
  
"I have no clue. Twenty years, maybe more. But you know what seems the strangest of all about this place?" Byers asked.  
  
Frohike shook his head.   
  
"The location alone. I mean think about it. The area is perfect for a ranch. Lots of hiking, camping, and even a small river not too far away. I just don't see how a place like this could go out of business." Byers said.  
  
"Who knows. Could be any number of reasons, but you do have a good point. The area is perfect. The thing I still don't get is what freaked Langly out. I mean, the place is harmless. Why wouldn't he come with us?" Frohike said as he Byers made their way to the building they thought may have a pay-phone.  
  
Byers just shrugged and continued to walk. He didn't have any clue as to what had gotten into Langly either. But, little did the two know that they would find out the reasons behind the odd behavior of their friend soon enough.  
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Langly watched his two friends from where he stood by the side of the road. Why did they insist on walking all the way down there? I know that there's not a working pay-phone in that dump, he thought.  
  
'But, of course Byers and Frohike aren't exactly aware of the history of this place, and you.' a little voice in the back of his mind spoke up suddenly.  
  
'They don't know about what happened, you do. You were there. You know all about this place, you're a part of it. Much as you hate to admit it.' The voice spoke up again, almost taunting him.  
  
"Shut up!!!" Langly said out loud. Closing his eyes tightly, Langly struggled to concentrate on pushing the voice out of his mind. It's been over for years now, push it back out. Nothing here can get to you or your friends anymore, its over. They will be just fine, he thought to himself as he slowly managed to calm down.  
  
Just as he thought he had had everything under control, Langly felt a sudden gust of wind followed by what sounded like a muffled scream. But, as Langly knew from his past this was not uncommon to hear near the ranch, nor was it uncommon for strange 'accidents' to occur at the same time. After thinking it over some Langly decided that he had had enough waiting.  
  
"That's it guys. Time to come back now, and if you don't, I'll drag you both back by your hair. I know I gave you guys twenty minutes, but by my watch time is up." he said to nothing in particular.  
  
As he started to make his way towards the ranch, Langly almost didn't hear the car horn blare at him until he almost had gotten hit. Thankfully the driver had been keeping an eye out for hitch-hikers since spotting the van and stopped to offer him a ride. Although Langly did recieve an odd look after asking to stop first at the ranch.  
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Frohike and Byers were just now reaching the old office building when Frohike decided he wanted to take a look around at the other nearby cabins. Byers started to protest but quickly thought the better of it. He knew too well that his friend wouldn't leave until he had checked the place out, at least a little.  
  
"Make it quick Frohike, and be careful. No telling how unsafe those cabins are." Byers called as he headed up the steps to the office building.  
  
Wonder if it I'll even be able to get inside? he wondered, before finally reaching for the doorknob. To Byers' surprise, the door opened easily, with a low groan. He paused before going inside. I really shouldn't be doing this, he thought, before heading inside.  
  
Byers frowned and looked around. To his surprise, the inside wasn't as dusty as he had originally thought it would be. Someone had been there recently. But who? his mind raced.  
  
Calm down, you're letting imagination run away with you, he told himself. But no matter how much he tried, Byers had a strange feeling about the place that he simply couldn't shake. It was like the minute he had entered the office he suddenly felt like he and Frohike were unwanted there. That's stupid, nobody is in here, the rational part of his mind said to him.  
  
He took a few more steps inside and looked around curiously. To the left looked to be what was once another office, a little ways, he could make out another room. On right he saw a small hallway and another room. On the door were the words 'Nurses Office'.  
  
"Great. No phone." he said aloud, as Frohike entered behind him. Byers turned, not expecting to see his friend so soon and almost cried out in surprise.  
  
"Hey, what gives? It's only little ole' me." Frohike said. He let out a small laugh at the look on his friend's face.  
  
"Nothing. You just startled me is all. I take it you didn't find a pay-phone either?" Byers asked, Frohike shook his head no as he walked inside and began to check the place out.  
  
"Not a thing. Those cabins are really boarded up tight. Probably to keep the local punks out. Man, this place is cleaner than I thought it would be." Frohike said, taking note of just how much dust there was in the office.  
  
"I know, I don't know about you, but I think this place may not be completely abandoned after all." Byers said as Frohike headed down the hallway to the left.  
  
"Byers, come take a look at this." Frohike called from the first room. Byers sighed and looked upwards, wishing that his friend would stop his exploring so they could get back to Langly, before he came looking for them.  
  
"Frohike, hurry it up already. Langly's probably worried sick by..." Byers words trailed off as he entered the room Frohike was in. He followed his friend's gaze to the far corner of the room.  
  
There was something dark, stained on the light floorboards, but Byers couldn't tell for certain what it was from where he was standing. He moved a few feet closer and instantly knew what it was. It looked almost like dried blood. Blood that had been there for several months at least.   
  
"Take a look at this." Frohike said, handing his friend a piece of yellow plastic. Byers took it and inspected it closely for a minute.  
  
"This is a piece of police tape. Frohike, I think we need to leave now. We could..." Byers started, but was quickly silenced by his friend.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Frohike whispered, Byers shook his head no. Frohike cocked his head and listened closely for a few minutes, then he gestured towards the front of the office.  
  
"Sounds like footsteps. But whose?" Byers whispered back after a moment. Frohike didn't say anything, but gave the hand signal for Byers to be quiet as the two headed for the front.  
  
The smell was the first thing Byers noticed as they reached the front of the office. It was so strong, the two men had trouble breathing as they made their to the front. The second thing they noticed were the sounds of somebody struggling, then something that sounded like a crash of some sort. Almost like somebody being thrown into a wall, Byers thought.  
  
"What the hell? It smells like somebody died in here!!!" Frohike said, forgetting for the moment to be quiet. Byers shot him an annoyed look  
  
Byers let out a gasp as they reached the front and saw what appeared to be the body of an older woman, laying face down in a puddle of blood. The smell was even stronger the closer he and Frohike got to it. Across the room, in the far corner was the body of a young man, who didn't appear to be dead just yet.  
  
Byers couldn't take the sight anymore and ran back to the office they had just came from. He slank to his knees, his mind was spinning and before he knew what had happened his breakfast had decided to make sudden appearance. Frohike joined him a second later, he didn't get sick, even though he felt like he would. Frohike just stood behind his friend, not knowing what to say or do at that moment.  
  
"Guys? You in here or what?" came Langly's voice a minute later. Looking around, Langly noticed nothing out of the ordinary as he walked in the office. But that changed the minute he saw his two friends in the office a moment later. What the hell happened here? he thought.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
